Tangentyere Womens Family Safety Group

The Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group (TWFSG) was developed out of a need identified by female Town Camp residents for a voice and action on Family and Domestic Violence issues. The Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group programs’ direction and development has been very organic and has worked from a strengths based approach acknowledging and celebrating the skills, knowledge, history, assets, connections and relationships that Town Camp residents have.

The core work of the TWFSG is in the area of early intervention and primary prevention on F&DV and this is done through:

Training Women in F&DV for family safety;

Supporting Aboriginal Women’s voices and views on the issues of F&DV through advocacy, activism, publicity, promotion and networking;

Resource development with the focus on early intervention and primary prevention messages of non-violence.

Our core members of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Governance Group are all Indigenous Women and Town Camp residents and coupled with the recent addition training in the area of prevention and early intervention into Family and Domestic Violence, our core members:

Are the experts of Town Camp history, relationships, knowledge and experience, best and worst practice.

Are the influencers in our community and the broader Alice Springs community in the area of family safety.

Have lived experience of family and domestic violence on Town Camps and therefore have knowledge to share.

Are invested in finding long term systemic solutions to the issues that family and domestic violence bring because it is our family’s future.

Are committed to the program because this is our home, our country, our family, our future.

Tangentyere Family Violence Program

The Tangentyere Family Violence Prevention Program (TFVPP) recognise that violence toward women is gender based and that men who use violence maintain beliefs and attitudes that women are unequal and/or have certain characteristics and specific roles that contribute to men excusing and disregarding violence particularly toward women. We do however; recognise that often the men we work with have a range of additional contributing factors that impact on men’s use of violence, such as physical and mental health issues, homelessness, housing overcrowding, alcohol and drug issues, education and employment issues plus socio economic and historic disadvantage that often contributes to serious harm in their relationships. The program acknowledge that these factors adversely impact on the relationships that men have with their partners, children and in their community. At TFVPP we believe that a holistic response to these issues also be addressed in the Men’s Behaviour Change Program.